Riding on the roads...........discuss

I ride on the roads, often ride and lead, some quite busy A roads. Ive no alternative, I wear a Hi-Viz gilet, but dont go as far as a flappy excercise sheet. I do ride quite defensively, however, I ride in the middle of my lane on narrow roads so as to give cars maximumt time to see me on a bend, and myself space to move over into. I dont thank normal traffic, passing me in a normal way, why should I? You dont see cyclists and other car drivers thanking everyone. But if a car slows specially for me, or waits for me to go past, then I always nod a thank you at them. Very rarely take a hand of the reins though, I consider that on the road especially the horse should be riding smartly up to the bridle,be focussed on me and be very responsive to my aids, and this is compromised by fiddling around with the reins.
 
I ride on a busy A road near me - never had an issue with drivers of any vehicles. Sometime people slowing down to look at the 'lovely horsey' can be more of a hazard to other drivers!

As for hi-vis - always wear it, even if I'm hacking around our fields for two reasons;
1) so other road users/dog walkers can see me
2) if, God forbid I was ever to come off my horse and need the assistance from an air ambulance or someone else looking for me on foot, I'll be a heck of a lot more visible with it on that not
 
The lanes round us used to be quiet, and I hacked out without a care. Nowadays, (within the last 5 years or so), the traffic seems to have become much heavier and definitely quicker.

We have narrow lanes with blind corners, and people go too fast.

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Both of these trailers overturned close to here (in fact this was the second time the red slurry trailer had overturned in a few weeks). Luckily no one was hurt. The recovery company was getting a bit fed up by the third time, they were convinced that each time it was a combination of excess speed and inattention, and very likely use of a mobile phone.

It's not just the agricultural vehicles by any means, I just happened to be able to photograph these incidents, it's a general pattern.

If I venture out on the road with a horse, we both wear lots of hi viz, and we have an accompanying cyclist outrider (to calm the traffic if necessary.)
 
haven't read the other replies but i live in the channel islands and all we have is roads. no forests/trails only the occasional track to have a canter down. its all lanes but its all I've ever know so don't find it scary. most drivers are pretty considerate, you do get the odd one who is an idiot but pony is 100% in traffic as are most of the ponies over here. i get more problems with loose dogs and cows (yes, we bought a pony who was terrified of cows and keep him on a working dairy farm and he's still terrified!) than anything else! luckily where the yard is is a pretty quiet area mainly consisting of houses with stables and farms so most drivers know there are lots of horses and are careful.
 
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I do a bit of road work through the village at least once a week, we are in quite a horsey village and most people are considerate and pass in a sensible way. My boy is great with all types of traffic (he actually is more wary of parked cars - they must be given a wide berth). I have a high viz hat band and wear either my high viz tabard or gilet too.

I actually find people driving horse boxes the worst round here, often come past too fast/close which annoys me more than if it was a car/motorbike as they should surely know better.

The other issue we tend to have is one particular part of our ride has a blind bend, it's pretty tight and you can't go round it much more than 20 in the car but people seem to think it's safe to overtake us on it. It's one of the main entrances to the village and so 9 times out of 10 there is a car coming the other way so up waving my arms around, shouting and pointing like a loon to the car trying to overtake when they can't bloody see. Drives me nuts, can people really not wait an extra 20/30 seconds until they can see what is coming. I see it with cyclists there and on another corner on my way to work too and cannot understand why anyone does it, they'll be the one who loses their licence or ends up inside when they injure someone by doing it but I guess saving 30 seconds is worth that risk.
 
I'm very lucky to have a quiet wood and dirt tracks to hack on, I never do a lot of road riding and have only ridden on an A road once. Round our country lanes most people are considerate but over the past six years I watch our little lane become a race track, that ultimately led to the loss of my cat who was hit by a boy racer. I always tuck myself in as this is what I was taught and always plastered myself and my horses in Hi Vis, there are so many blind bends on our lane that I think it's the safest thing. My old boy Legend never liked high sided vehicles, good job I retired him when I did as after that our lane became a bus route (with buses that are far to big for the lane to accommodate.)

The current driver is a total knob. Going round "The bad bend" as we call it at home (a very sharp left hand bend) my dad met the bus coming round it one morning. He was in his two tone drop-side pickup, he stopped as he new he wasn't going to get round with the bus coming at him, what does the bus driver do...carry on round and hit my dad, damaged one of the drop-side bars on his pickup, but the best was the driver of the bus tore a huge hole in the side of it...amazingly he's still employed...
 
I have no choice but to ride on roads, I always wear high viz, always thank drivers that pass wide and slow, get myself out of the way to let large queues pass- I rarely get impatient drivers try to pass, in fact they often thank me for moving aside!
 
I always wear some level of hi viz for hacking on me and the horse and if weather is poor, or sunny and I am planning more than 100 yds on the road the horse wears a hi viz sheet too. I have flashing hi intensity bike lights too for tail area and my helmet if I am going out early. I did have a thing you held like a whip with a message on it - saying pass wide and pass slow - cant remember where it came from - I gave it to my daughter who needed it at the time. It showed up really well and I might get another one for me.

The worst drivers I encounter are women in their mid 30s - 50s. They seem to have a pretty vacant look on their faces and I cant even make eye contact!
 
Wow, you all make me so glad I ride in the New Forest! My yard is on a gravel track, and if we want to do any real road work we have to hack for ages! There are a few small roads that we ride on, but they tend to be very very quiet - we might see 1 car for every 500m of road we hack on. And that's a busy day!
Although, when I do have to hack on the road, it does make me wish I did it more often. I hacked my pony out yesterday up past one of the pubs, and he's very spooky - I had to get off twice to lead him past 'terrifying' objects as there were cars waiting both times! This is something I see / hear that people do far too often - stay on and battle something out with their horse when cars are piling up both side, waiting to get past.
I have got some reflective leg wraps for the winter, and may get a head band for my hat too, but probably won't be needing them often as I can easily hack for hours and hours without going near a road.
 
alice.j said:
I have got some reflective leg wraps for the winter, and may get a head band for my hat too, but probably won't be needing them often as I can easily hack for hours and hours without going near a road.
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Even more reason to wear them if you are hacking in the middle of nowhere. If you come off it makes it easier for search and rescue to find you.
 
I've not read all the replies, but here is my twopenneth.
All road users, be it cyclists, horse riders, drivers (horses) etc should have to take (by law) a road safety test. Traffic police should also undertake more training in road safety for the above and enforce it when dangerous and/or illegal behaviour takes place.
With regards to drivers, education and penalties to encourage safety.
that said, I do wonder how many bridlepaths have been turned into foot paths at the whim of ramblers, forcing more riders into the roads ???
Should we also be encouraging the government to create/reinstate more bridleways to reduce having to use the riads as much.
I know in 30 years of riding the bridlepaths near my home have all but disappeared and around where I currenlry live, they are barely maintained or are frequented by scrambler bikes or are tarmaced to make them unusable.
 
We never go out without hi-viz, I can't see the point of making a point by not wearing it, and I alwasy thank dirvers who have either slowed or moved out for us.
We have quiet lanes near to home but busier roads not very far away, one which has become a 'rat run' for those accessing the motorway. That road is just wide enough for two vehicles to pass, visibility is poor, with over-growing trees, a long bend and gateways on each side. The 40mph speed limit is frequently ignored. Within the last 12 months there have been 2 RTAs which needed the air-ambulance to attend.

We find that the nicest hacks are midweek during school terms, as the weekends bring customers to the local farmshop and visitors to the hotel, who are not used to seeing horses on the roads, although most locals know that they are likely to pass a number of horses in the area.
I do find though that most drivers slow down for my Draft horse - they can hardly believe their eyes, she is so big. And if they don't behave properly she soon makes her feelings clear. As she did when one woman turned onto the quiet narrow lane which doesn't really go anywhere that you can't get to on another road. This driver, who really should have taken the alternative route, revved her engine behind the mare, who glanced over her shoulder and perceptibly slowed. Engine was revved again, this time the mare turned her head to glare and slowed even more. Sisterls Appy trotted on to the nearest gateway to pull off but the Draft mare absolutely refused to allow the driver to intimidate her and I honestly think that if the engine had been revved again, the mare would have stopped and sat on the bonnet - the car was close enough!

I remember riding in school holidays 50 yrs ago on roads with very few cars, but with buses, tractor transporters and dustbin wagons, which the horses took no notice of. We used to canter on grass verges, which are now overgrown and full of litter. Many of the tracks that we used to ride on have been closed to horses, notably one which was closed when a house was built in the wood and another which runs close to a working quarry (which was working then, too).
 
I ride on country lanes and I am lucky as i can go out for hours and only see around 5 cars and they are mainly good as they are mainly just the farmers which are all use to horses. I do meet the odd idiot which does not slow down. What i do is ride just out from the edge when i see a car coming and if they start slowing down then i move over and if they don't then i won't move over in till they do which seems to work. I always trot on for cars and i make sure that i say thankyou to everyone that slows down. I also Wear a lot of hi-viz and i make sure my horse is also covered in hi-viz. I don't often tell people to slow down as i use to but i found that by telling people to slow down i got more reactions from drivers that were not very nice. The only drivers i will tell to slow down or stop are people driving big vehicles on small roads just because youngster can sometimes spin if he is not given enough room
 
Thankfully almost all our hacking is off-road but even when on roads, everyone has seemed decent. I ride in areas with a bit of farm traffic and quarry traffic too - and they are also great.

The one time I felt like I was in a dangerous situation with a car where the driver was to blame, it was on a bridleway that meets a private road onto a farm. We were just walking along this narrow road, about to get on the dirt path (where a car couldn't really go), when a car drove around the corner. It wasn't going very fast but it took up the entire road and either side were steep grassy banks with trees with low-hanging branches. Drivers normally stop and pull over to let you by or even reverse to a gap further up at this point as there's really no reasonable alternative. Instead of stopping or making room when they saw us, the driver kept going at exactly the same speed and I had to scramble up the bank to get out of the way and got caught in the branches and still only just could squeeze by as there really wasn't room for a horse to get by comfortably. What really did get to me in this situation is that it wasn't just any car - it was the police. If they'd been in an obvious hurry, that's one thing - but these people seemed to just not care at all. If the police behave this way, how can we expect ordinary drivers on actual roads to be any more responsible..?
 
EQUIDAE said:
Even more reason to wear them if you are hacking in the middle of nowhere. If you come off it makes it easier for search and rescue to find you.
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I will probably just put the head band on in a few weeks and keep it on until spring time, but our search and rescue couldn't find someone who came off in a large open clearing next to a road, four houses and a pub a couple of weeks ago, so I'm more likely to be found by other riders / walkers :/
 
Barnacle said:
Thankfully almost all our hacking is off-road but even when on roads, everyone has seemed decent. I ride in areas with a bit of farm traffic and quarry traffic too - and they are also great.

The one time I felt like I was in a dangerous situation with a car where the driver was to blame, it was on a bridleway that meets a private road onto a farm. We were just walking along this narrow road, about to get on the dirt path (where a car couldn't really go), when a car drove around the corner. It wasn't going very fast but it took up the entire road and either side were steep grassy banks with trees with low-hanging branches. Drivers normally stop and pull over to let you by or even reverse to a gap further up at this point as there's really no reasonable alternative. Instead of stopping or making room when they saw us, the driver kept going at exactly the same speed and I had to scramble up the bank to get out of the way and got caught in the branches and still only just could squeeze by as there really wasn't room for a horse to get by comfortably. What really did get to me in this situation is that it wasn't just any car - it was the police. If they'd been in an obvious hurry, that's one thing - but these people seemed to just not care at all. If the police behave this way, how can we expect ordinary drivers on actual roads to be any more responsible..?
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I would have actually gone to the local police and mentioned this - as you say, if police act like this then what's stopping ordinary people?
 
alice.j said:
I will probably just put the head band on in a few weeks and keep it on until spring time, but our search and rescue couldn't find someone who came off in a large open clearing next to a road, four houses and a pub a couple of weeks ago, so I'm more likely to be found by other riders / walkers :/
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Were they wearing hivis?
 
A young lad from the next village took to beeping his car horn behind the horse and me whenever we met, trying deliberately to frighten her! I reported him to the police - I hope a policeman on the doorstep will help him "grow up".
Mostly the drivers around here are considerate and polite, though we do avoid the rush hour when the lanes are being used as rat runs, and sundays bring out a lot of traffic.
 
Just to add for those who've been unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident or even a near-miss - please, please do take a minute to report it at www.horseaccidents.org.uk. Without building up hard evidence from cases like these, it's impossible for us to campaign for better safety for all equestrians and horses. There's also plenty of advice about why hi-viz is vital at all times of year, how to check your kit is up to standard, and road safety training for riders - plus plenty of resources to help other road / rights of way users see things from each others' perspectives, too.
 
No matter what a horse is doing or a rider is wearing it is up to the vehicle driver to cope safely with any situation

Unfortunately drivers are taught very basic things up to the test and then there is nothing
 
Making it illegal not to pass safely will not stop it happening. If making things illegal stopped them happening, we would not need a police force, courts or prisons!
 
Nativelover said:
I've not read all the replies, but here is my twopenneth.
All road users, be it cyclists, horse riders, drivers (horses) etc should have to take (by law) a road safety test. Traffic police should also undertake more training in road safety for the above and enforce it when dangerous and/or illegal behaviour takes place.
With regards to drivers, education and penalties to encourage safety.
that said, I do wonder how many bridlepaths have been turned into foot paths at the whim of ramblers, forcing more riders into the roads ???
Should we also be encouraging the government to create/reinstate more bridleways to reduce having to use the riads as much.
I know in 30 years of riding the bridlepaths near my home have all but disappeared and around where I currenlry live, they are barely maintained or are frequented by scrambler bikes or are tarmaced to make them unusable.
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Same with me, we have a forest on our doorstep but so many of the bridle paths have been closed it's not really worth going up there :(
 
ROG said:
No matter what a horse is doing or a rider is wearing it is up to the vehicle driver to cope safely with any situation

Unfortunately drivers are taught very basic things up to the test and then there is nothing
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I was on a speed awareness course yesterday (yes, okay, I was a boy racer in a former life!!) and in the section about hazards, horse/rider was mentioned only once, and nothing about passing them. Run by two very experienced driving instructors, but it isn't on their list of potential other road users. Bikes, now they were mentioned loads of times.
 
Barnacle said:
Thankfully almost all our hacking is off-road but even when on roads, everyone has seemed decent. I ride in areas with a bit of farm traffic and quarry traffic too - and they are also great.

The one time I felt like I was in a dangerous situation with a car where the driver was to blame, it was on a bridleway that meets a private road onto a farm. We were just walking along this narrow road, about to get on the dirt path (where a car couldn't really go), when a car drove around the corner. It wasn't going very fast but it took up the entire road and either side were steep grassy banks with trees with low-hanging branches. Drivers normally stop and pull over to let you by or even reverse to a gap further up at this point as there's really no reasonable alternative. Instead of stopping or making room when they saw us, the driver kept going at exactly the same speed and I had to scramble up the bank to get out of the way and got caught in the branches and still only just could squeeze by as there really wasn't room for a horse to get by comfortably. What really did get to me in this situation is that it wasn't just any car - it was the police. If they'd been in an obvious hurry, that's one thing - but these people seemed to just not care at all. If the police behave this way, how can we expect ordinary drivers on actual roads to be any more responsible..?
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Horse riders have the right of way, but every body should give way to the police. If he kept on coming then he was on a mission and if he had used the blues and two's what would your horse have done. Best thing would have been to retreat to safety.
Most of my hacking is on the roads and most drivers are considerate, It's the knobs that stand out (pardon the phrase) and give the others a bad name. I've been in some awkward situations due mostly to the amount of traffic and find that keeping calm, taking the initiative and directing the traffic to allow you to pass and get out of the melee is often the safest course.
 
I live in a horsey area, but it is very rare for me and my friend to see other people riding out. There are bridlepaths in the area but you have to ride on some very fast roads to get to them. One is along a national speed limit A road and the other you have to ride over the motorway!!! We ride on the roads because we have to, to get anywhere. Most drivers are ok, but as said the problem is when you meet a bad driver in a bad place eg a blind bend, it is not going to end well for the rider and until the law is changed in regards to how drivers are prosecuted for hitting a horse, then drivers on the whole don't think about it. If a driver runs over a pedestrian there seems to be harsher sentencing than if you then put that "pedestrian" on a horse in exactly the same circumstances. We as riders always have to prove our horse did nothing wrong. We always try to get out of the way as quickly as possible and thank people who make a effort to drive past us courteously.
 
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